The most helpful critical review

‘Les Miserables’ arrives on blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 1.85:1 encode. Director Tom Hooper and cinematographer Danny Cohen favour a gritty, and quite often dark, ambience for this film. There is a slow but steady evolution from darkness to light in the film, obviously done intentionally. That means the first part of this film often has a...

3.0 out of 5 starstheir is lots of signing in this
i knew it was a musical but thought their would be just a bit more dialogwas good all the charters are amazing!but some parts were hard to hear even with the TV turned way up!

‘Les Miserables’ arrives on blu ray with MPEG-4 AVC 1080p 1.85:1 encode. Director Tom Hooper and cinematographer Danny Cohen favour a gritty, and quite often dark, ambience for this film. There is a slow but steady evolution from darkness to light in the film, obviously done intentionally. That means the first part of this film often has a murky, ill defined ambience, though it is to the credit of this high definition presentation that fine detail and shadow detail still remain commendable almost all of the time. Close-ups in fact often offer a staggering amount of fine detail, an aspect which only improves once the film moves into brighter territory. The first half or so of the film has been colour graded fairly aggressively toward the blue end of the spectrum, with the second half imbued with more of a golden amber hue. The blacks are perfectly rendered. Hooper's intended close-ups reveal a ton of fine facial detail: from strained faces, furrowed brows, anguished age lines, pores, facial hair, dirt, scrapes, bruises, and blood. What I like the best is Hooper uses ultra-close-ups on the actors faces as they are belting out their lines. This is something you are rarely privy to when watching a stage play. The sheer distance of the audience from the actors on stage makes it difficult to discern slight facial expressions. Here everything is on display. The grief, the anguish, and the pain. It's all there. It may not be pretty to look at, but it sure gets the story's point across. (4.5/5)

AUDIO:

‘Les Miserables’ comes with an absolutely stellar DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track, that truly engulfs the viewer. The weight of the music and the lyrics being belted by the actors is tremendous. The front channels provide a very loud and very clear rendition of the famous songs being sung. Every lyric is crystal clear. The bass is beautifully deep. The deep rumbling of the bass in the opening number is fantastic to hear and feel. One of the best things about this film is the incredibly smart mixing of ambient environmental sounds with the continuing underscore and vocals. This can be rather subtle at times, as with the crash of waves in the opening sequence, or more immediate and apparent, as in the huge barricade sequence. Even the sung elements feature discrete channelization which open the film up aurally and present a well defined sense of space within the frame. Overall, this is an all around spectacular audio experience. The only weak point is Russell Crowe’s singing. However, Anne Hathaway's rendition of 'I Dreamed A Dream' was the highlight, done with lots of feelings and warmth. I have listened to Elaine Paige's, and Susan Boyle's versions, but I like Anne's version the BEST! (5/5)

‘Les Miserables’ has an estimated budget of $61 million, and its worldwide gross was $429 million.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I found the entire movie to be an enthralling experience. It isn't without its faults though. Russell Crowe is outmatched by the immense singing talent surrounding him. Anne Hathaway destroys them all though. Her performance alone is worth the money, with the highlight of her singing ‘I Dreamed A Dream.’ With absolutely beautiful video and audio, ‘Les Miserables’ comes highly recommended.

Director Tom Hooper has literally rewritten the book with regards to filming critically and popularly acclaimed musicals like "Les Miserables" in his riveting, excellent cinematic adaptation of one of the world's most beloved musicals, while hewing more closely to the original text of Victor Hugo's novel; it is both a fantastic and magnificent cinematic adaptation of the musical. Hooper gambled that he could film "Les Miserables" by having the actors singing their roles during the actual filming without having them dubbed later in post-production, and not only has it succeeded beyond the expectations of many, it truly feels as though you are hearing a live outdoor performance of "Les Miserables". The cast is superlative starting with Hugh Jackman's compelling portrayal of Jean Valjean, as a conflicted soul trying to escape from his penal past; his singing is exceptional, most notably in his soliloquy "Bring Him Home", hoping the young revolutionary Marais (Eddie Redmayne) escapes from the Paris 1832 student-led uprising, so he can be united with his adopted daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried); so too are Anne Hathaway (Fantine) and Russell Crowe (Javert), with Hathaway giving an especially poignant rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream", widely regarded by many as the unofficial "anthem" of "Les Miserables". (Crowe has been condemned by some critics for his singing, but he shows his ability to sing nearly as well as his co-stars, especially towards the end, and offers viewers an emotionally complex portrayal of Javert that remains true to Hugo's depiction of him as a loyal civil servant intent on upholding French law.) Both Sacha Baron Cohen (Thenardier) and Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thenardier) are especially memorable as the hustlers who are the guardians of the young Cosette (Isabelle Allen) until Valjean steps in, appearing later towards the end of the film, and so too, Colm Wilkinson - the original Jean Valjean in the London and Broadway stage productions - as the Bishop. Along with the excellent cast of actors, the movie features excellent musicianship from the likes of harpist Skaila Kanga and composer/arranger/pianist Anne Dudley, who has contributed additional music to the film score. "Les Miserables" is one of the best cinematic adaptations of a musical I have seen and will be remembered as such for years to come; without question, it is among the best films of 2012.

My elderly mother was in town and wanted to see it. I groaned inside then manned up and took her. Not because I hated the idea of the movie but because I knew what was coming. Maybe thirty minutes in I had to run out of the theatre and cry. That was embarrassing. Regaining my composure I returned and had a thoroughly good time with this excellent production. Hugh Jackman is charismatic in any role and as everyone knows Anne Hathaway gives a performance that could draw tears from a stone. I am not sure how this could have been done better. It's easy to quibble about a few points (Russell Crowe?) but this movie does exactly what it set out to do and does it well. Best seen on Sunday night with hankie at the ready.

Say what you want about Jackman's thermonuclear vibrato, and Crowe's vocals: they tore this up. Jackman was a superb Valjean and Crowe was a perfect Javert. All the girls were miles ahead of the boys in terms of vocals, except the kid who who played Enjolras. He was really good. The real star of the movie is the little Huttlestone kid as Gavroche. Also, in case you're wondering, I do not think the French "Les Miserables" translates to "The Wretched Ones" as some people say. I think it actually means "almost everybody dies."

I loved the Uma Thurman version. I am also a fan of the stars of this film. I was just not overjoyed to see them all together. Many of the songs worked magnificently. There was a lot of song dialouge that didn't work as well. I felt this should have been a musical rather than an opera. I was surprised at how well the actors could hold their notes, like a professional, yet not sound as well on simpler tunes. There are also professional singers who can act (not 50 Cent). Personally I would have cast them.

How is it all these Frenchmen have British accents? The music enhances the already rolling coaster ride of emotion of the saga, making the highs higher and lows lower. There has been almost a void of decent musicals in the motion picture industry since the 1960's. This one fills the void with a great story and cinematography. You are hooked on the film by a brilliant opening scene with Jackman surprising the bejesus out of me with his singing and Crowe does not.

As a musical, I won't rush out and buy the sound track. Looks good on the big screen. But seriously, 5 stars? Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Russell Crowe, who can't carry a tune in a bucket, got a major starring role in a musical. Don't look for that to happen again.

Although I have seen this story on the stage, I was riveted by the movie. The singing and acting were both very good. Even though I knew how it ended it still had me in tears in places. The sets and atmosphere of the movie took you back in time. You must be a fan of musicals to best enjoy it, but since I am, no problem.